Nine Beginnings
by Purple 'N' Blue Wings
Summary: Prequel to Weapon Nine. How Ebony ended up being found by Victor, and her recovery from the Stryker incident, and how she became Ebony Creed. A.K.A; Jynx
1. Chapter 1

**Nine Beginnings**

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 1

(Ebony P.O.V)

I didn't like it where I was. It hurt. Almost as much as what my father had done to me. One of the first things they'd done to me had even hurt more.

The white coats had ordered the men with guns to place me on the cold table above the tank of water. Then they had lowered me into the water. The needles came next. And then there was the pain. And then nothing. I think I must've died for a while. I heard them say something about no heart beat for near thirty seconds.

I had been put through several other painful tests before I had first attempted to escape. And when I was caught, the tests got worse. It was after several other near successful escape attempts, that I was moved. And that was where I was left now.

I woke up in a bigger cage than I'd been in before, with others on either side of me. the girl on my right looked to be asleep, so I wandered to the left, where there was a boy with bandages around his eyes. He looked to be in his teens. That was quite a few years older than my four.

"'Scuse me?" I asked in a small voice.

The boy looked towards me, and with his hand outstretched, he guided himself towards me. "You all right?" He asked, when he made it to me.

"Is this a different facility to Alkali Lake?" I asked.

"It's Three Mile Island." The boy answered. "I'm Scott Summers, who are you?"

"Ebony Davies. They just moved me here. You shoot lasers out of your eyes, right?"

"Yeah, how do you know?"

"I just do. Whenever I come close to mutants, I gain their powers. I have a load of new ones since the humans grabbed me."

"How old are you?" Scott asked, frowning.

"Four."

"Four? Bloody Hell. How did you end up here?"

"My mum and dad were mean to me. I ran away. Got grabbed."

"Have they hurt you?"

"Yes." I replied, simply.

"At some point, we're going to get out, don't you worry, and when we do, I'll look after you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Scott." I said, and just then, the cage door opened, and a human guard dragged me out.

* * *

><p>Hours later, I was thrown back in the cell, in absolute agony. I dragged myself to the back of my cell, and curled up. I had put up quite a fight, using the claws I'd been born with. The ones that could look like normal nails. If I wanted them too. I also used my fangs. I had taken down several guards before I had been subdued. And then came the tests. It was hell. It made me hurt, and it made me tired.<p>

Not for the first time since I'd been caught, I cried myself to sleep.

* * *

><p>(No P.O.V)<p>

Victor Creed knew Stryker was keeping something from him. He was no longer allowed in the cell block. Well… it was more like the cage block really. It had all started when there had been a transfer from Alkali Lake to the Island. Something was going on, and Victor hadn't been included in it. For some reason, Stryker was keeping this mutant from him. But why?

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please let me know what you think. I know I covered this in the actual story, but I wanted to elaborate on it. **


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 2

(Ebony P.O.V)

Weeks passed. My sensitive hearing picked up the sounds of a fight, but I ignored it. Some of the guards had fights sometimes. It was nothing really.

I enjoyed talking with Scott. It was a huge change from having no one to talk to. But my whole body _hurt_, and I was so _hungry_. There were wounds al over my arms, legs, and upper body from the tests. The exercises the white coats had me do were so tiring. I didn't fight. Not anymore. It was better if I didn't fight. And I got a little bit more food for good behaviour. Not much, but a little.

The sounds of a fight stopped, and then a man ran down between the cells, metal claws that were similar to my own new claws extended, and cutting open cage doors.

I walked out of the cell tentatively. So did the others. We all grouped together, and started to move. I stuck close to Scott, but when we were shot at, I ran for it. I'd be better off on my own anyway. I suddenly felt myself pick up two new powers. A telepathy, and an energy. But to control the energy, I needed something to act as a channel.

There was more fighting, so I headed away from the sound. I didn't want to get caught. I was glad that my heightened hearing allowed me to pinpoint where it was coming from. I knew when the others got out. The other telepath got them out. At least Scott was safe.

I heard something move behind me. I whirled to see a tall man, with a long black coat, short black hair, sideburns, fangs and claws. My other power told me that it was his power I'd had since birth. It was what allowed me to heal quickly, when I had the energy, and move like a cat. And it was what gave me my good instincts.

Right now, my instincts were telling me two different things. One was that I was safe, and the other; to run. I decided not to test my luck. I ran.

* * *

><p>(No P.O.V)<p>

At the same time as Ebony had been assessing him, Victor had been assessing her. She was small. Very thin, a bit too thin, if you asked him. Her wounds looked raw. Some were still bleeding, and others, close to healing. He knew they would scar. Stryker had caused this to happen to her. The girl was also the mutant Stryker had been hiding from him. He knew it. Victor's instincts screamed at him to rip the human to shreds, and protect the child. Something told him that she was his. His cub. His daughter to raise, teach, and protect.

But then she bolted. He snarled. His cub was afraid of him. That wouldn't do.

Victor ran after her, catching up with her easily. She stumbled, and that's when he caught her. He wrapped one arm easily round her waist, effectively pinning her arms to her sides.

She struggled, trying to get free from his grip. Victor was kneeling on the ground, trying to get the cub to calm down.

"It's alright Cub. You're safe. I'm not going to hurt you, Cub."

"Leave me go!" She said, thrashing around.

"Calm down. I want to help you Cub. I can help you with your mutation. And I can get you away from here."

She stopped struggling against him, and turned her head. She sniffed, taking in her scent. "Do you have food?" she asked, tentatively.

"I'll get you some." Victor said, and he stood up, bringing the cub with him. He shifted her so she was cradled in his arms, like anyone else would a baby. "What's your name Cub?"

"Ebony Davies. You?" she replied.

"Victor Creed." He thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "You'll be Ebony Creed from now on Cub, not Davies."

She looked at him curiously.

"You're my cub, so you'll have my surname." He explained. "Now, let's get out of here, and get you some food."

* * *

><p>(Ebony P.O.V)<p>

I felt… contented when he called me his cub, and gave me his surname. I felt as if I belonged. I'd never known what it felt like to belong before. It made me happy. My feeling of fear was quickly disappearing as he carried me off the island, and was replaced with a sense of safety.

I curled into him. He was warm, and I was cold, so I pulled myself as close to him as possible. And then, I fell to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please review, and let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 3

(Ebony P.O.V)

The first thing I noticed when I started to wake up was that I was on something soft, and I was warm, wrapped tightly in something. I opened my eyes to see that I was laid out on the back seat of a jeep, wrapped in a heavy, black coat. I sat up, and saw that I was alone.

Victor's scent lingered in the cab, but he wasn't here. I tried to open the door, but found it locked. I frowned. I was locked in. Well, he _did _say that he wasn't going to hurt me, and my instincts told me I could trust him. Maybe he'd gone to get food, and didn't want to wake me up? I took in my surroundings. The car was more comfortable than either of the cages I'd been kept in. It was smaller than my cage at the Island, but larger than the cage at Alkali Lake. That had just been a dog crate, really.

I heard the lock click, and the driver's door opened. Victor climbed in. After the door was shut behind him, he turned in his seat, and dropped a wal- mart carrier bag on the floor in front of me.

"There are clothes in there, but first, I'm going to have to clean up your wounds." He said. He pulled out a pack of wipes from a first aid kit, and some bandages. When he opened the packet of wipes, the smell hit me. It was like the smell of the Island, and Alkali Lake. I flinched, and whimpered.

"Shh, don't worry. These will just clean any dirt from your wounds." Victor said. "I'm going to need you to take off your top, so I can clean them all, Cub." I did so, and he reached out, and picked up one of my arms. Using the wipes, he cleaned all the cuts on both my arms, and then my upper body. He then bandaged them up. "Don't you have the ability to heal?" he asked.

I nodded. "The white coats just didn't give me enough food and rest after the adatium."

"The what?" he asked, frowning.

"Adatium. They put me on a cold table, and lowered me into a tank of water. The needles injected me with it."

"Adamantium, you mean?" He asked, his voice dangerously quiet. I nodded, shrinking away from him.

Victor growled. "Not only did he not tell me there was another Feral, but he also failed to mention he'd bonded the Adamantium to _two_ people." He looked at me. "Relax, Cub, I'm not angry at you. Just the guy who did it to you. Stryker. Now, did they hurt you anywhere else?"

I nodded. "My legs." I said.

"Alright. Let me see. I'll clean and bandage those as well."

Five minutes later, I was putting on the jeans, long sleeved shirt, black hoodie and coat that had all been in the bag. As well as the trainers. When I was dressed in the new clothes, Victor started driving.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To get you something to eat. And then go somewhere to get you more clothes. Then, we'll head for someplace safe to stay."

"Kay." I said, and I sat back in my seat.

"So, Cub." He said after a while. "How did Stryker and his team get hold of you?"

"My parents were mean to me. I ran away. The men picked me up off the street."

"Did you fight?"

"Yeah. There were just too many. And I'd slept in a dead end alley."

"I'm going to have to start teaching you how to defend yourself, Cub. Lesson one; never get backed into a corner that you can't get out of."

I nodded, taking in the advice. I may need it some day. "You're not going to send me back to my parents are you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No cub. I'm not. I'm going to protect you. I don't think sending you back to them would help that at all." He looked at me in the mirror. "Don't worry cub. You can trust me. We're family now. Family sticks together. Got it?"

I nodded. "Got it." I had a faint smile on my face. I was going to have a real family. Victor pulled up in a car park, and got out. I opened the jeep door, just as Victor reached it. He reached in, and picked me up. He closed the door with his free arm, and carried me into what seemed like a dinner. I wouldn't know. I'd never been in one.

Victor put me down on one of the seats in a booth, and handed me a menu. He picked one up, and looked at it. I copied him, but all the lines on the pages looked like nonsense to me.

"What do you want to eat, Cub?" he asked.

I shrugged.

"There has to be something on the menu that… wait a minute, can you read?"

I shook my head. "No one ever taught me. And I can only count to five. I had to teach myself that."

"Seems like I'm ordering for you then. And I'm going to have to teach you to read and count. Alright then. What do you normally have to eat? Before you ran away?"

I shrugged again. "Bread. Some meat if I was good, and stayed out of the way and did my chores." I answered. "Maybe some cereal."

* * *

><p>(No P.O.V)<p>

Victor was quickly realising that he'd have his work cut out for him here. Not only had she been used as an experiment, but her home life had been worse than his own as a kid when she'd lived with her so-called 'parents'. He was going to have to teach her a lot more than he thought.

"Right, I'll just order you a small breakfast. Eat what you can of it. I'll also get you some juice or something. I'm going to have to teach you how to read and I'm guessing write, too, as well as your numbers."

He ordered the Cubs food, and his own, and when it came he noticed how she only picked at it. Even though he knew she was starving.

"Come on Cub, eat up. I know you're hungry." She started to eat a bit quicker, but not much. Then he realised what she was doing. "Ebony, you don't need to make the food last. Whenever you're hungry, I'll get you something to eat, alright?"

The corners of her lips tilted up slightly again, and she started eating quicker. Ebony only finished half the food, but Victor knew it was normal. She wasn't used to having so much to eat.

He paid the waitress, and left, carrying Ebony out, just like he had in. He put her back in the back seat of the jeep, and got in himself. Victor then started to drive. He needed to get things for the cub, and food to stock up the cupboards at the house.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please let me know what you thought!**


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 4

(Ebony P.O.V)

The house was two stories, surrounded by trees, and an hours drive from the nearest town. In short: I loved it. Victor picked me up out of the truck, like he had earlier, and carried me into the house, and placed me on the sofa as he went to get the shopping bags. After a short tour, Victor showed me my room. Right now, it only had a bed, and a chest of drawers, but I didn't mind.

"When you're a bit more settled, we'll go into town, and get you some more furniture, Cub." Victor said.

I nodded, and when he left to go unpack the food, I unpacked the couple of bags that had my new clothes in them. I was used to doing things like this. I probably would have unpacked the food too, if I hadn't been beaten to the task. All the clothes fitted easily in the chest of drawers. I couldn't understand why I'd _need_ more furniture, to be honest.

I heard the door open, and I turned to see Victor standing in the door frame. He looked at the empty carrier bags, and then at me. "I could have unpacked those, Cub." He said.

I shrugged. "I used to do all the unpacking before…"

He nodded in understanding, and sat down on the bed. I walked over, and jumped up beside him. He pulled a rolled up bag from his inner coat pocket, looked at it for a second, before handing it to me. "Here you are Cub." He said. I took it tentatively, and unrolled it. I reached in, and pulled out a soft toy. It was a small black cat. I sniffed, and felt the tears well up. I launched myself at him and wrapped my arms as far as they could reach around his waist. I felt the tears spill over as I tried to hold back the sobs.

I felt one of his arms wrap round my upper body after a moment and that one movement sent me over the edge. No one had ever hugged me before. And no one had given me any toys either.

"Thank you." I said.

"For what, Cub?" He asked.

"Wanting me. No one ever wanted me before. I was a freak. And no one ever gave me a toy before, either." I said, in a small voice.

Victor shifted me onto his lap, and I moved one arm so that I was clutching the toy to my chest, and held his shirt in the other. "You've never had any toys?"

I shook my head. "My mommy couldn't be bothered, and my daddy said that toys were only for good children, normal children. You're more my daddy than he ever was."

* * *

><p>(No P.O.V)<p>

Victor stiffened slightly when she said that. He'd only given her food, some clothes, a warm place to stay, and a stuffed toy, and she said that he was more a father to her than the human she'd lived with before. It made him want to hunt that human down, and rip him to shreds.

Victor shook his head. That shouldn't be right. He didn't like the fact that for the most part of her life so far, his cub had been miserable. Well, for all of it, by the looks of things.

"You're going to have a good life from now on, Cub. I promise." He said. "Now, I think it's time for a bath for you. Unless you're hungry."

She shook her head. She was probably still full from earlier. "Alright then. A bath it is."

Bathing a child was definitely a novel experience. Victor got as soaking wet, as if he'd been in the bath himself. He'd been washing her back, and the wounds there, and then, all of a sudden, Ebony had flown into a wild panic, splashing water everywhere. He managed to get her to calm down, but he had no idea what the hell had just happened. It wasn't that washing the wounds on her back could have hurt her badly, they were almost healed, and she would have panicked earlier if that was the case. In the end, he had to not just dry Ebony off, and get her dressed, but dry himself off too, and change. Then came bedtime.

If it was one thing that Victor Creed never thought he'd ever do in his long life, it was tuck a child into bed. And it wasn't what he'd overheard people talking about either. Ebony didn't ask to stay up later, and she didn't ask for a bedtime story. Both of which, he was thankful for. She just clutched the toy cat to her chest with one hand, and held onto his hand with the other. Well, it was more like she kept her hand in his. Her hand completely disappeared when enveloped in his own. He knew he couldn't break any of her bones, due to the Adamantium, but it still looked as easy as snapping a twig to him, she was so small.

Just before she fell to sleep, she murmured something he hadn't expected to hear. "Goodnight, daddy."

Those two words woke something inside him. It was something that for once, didn't want to rip, tear or kill. It wanted to protect, and care. It was a strange feeling for him, and something that he had never felt before. He'd only felt something vaguely similar to this with Jimmy.

"Goodnight Cub." He said, softly.

Victor ran his hand through her hair, and then stood and left the room. Victor paused at the door, and looked back at her. She'd already shifted so that she was curled up on the bed, cocooned in the blankets. He smiled slightly, and for once, it wasn't patronizing, or a threatening leer, it was almost… tender. The cub already had a spot in his heart that he didn't know existed.

Victor vowed, then and there, that he'd always take care of her. She was his daughter. His instincts told him that. And she was going to have a good life. Even if he had to kill to make sure of it. Victor closed the door softly behind him, and walked downstairs, for a glass of whiskey. Today had been… odd. At first he'd still had a vendetta against Jimmy, but then he'd found the Cub, and suddenly, the only thing that mattered was protecting her. He was a bloody father, for chrissake. That was something he hadn't seen coming. And it was a fact that needed a stiff drink to come to terms with.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 5

(Ebony P.O.V)

Two days later, I was sitting on the sofa, trying to understand the words in the book. I had learnt a bit yesterday from dad, but now, I was trying to teach myself. That was when the dull throbbing pain began. I frowned it was starting in my leg bones, and spreading out. It was slowly increasing in intensity. I whimpered and started to shake. I curled up and closed my eyes, trying to will away the pain.

"Cub?" I heard dad ask as he came into the room.

"It hurts." I whimpered.

"What hurts, cub?" he asked, coming and standing beside me, before crouching down.

"My bones. It started in my legs, and then spread out. It hurts."

"Has this ever happened before?"

"There was something similar, but not as bad. I was told to grow up and deal with it, 'cause they were just growing pains, but this is worse."

He closed his eyes, and sighed. "Cub, I think these are growing pains again. But because of the Adamantium, its worse."

"There's nothing-" I couldn't finish, as the pain became greater, causing my entire body to shake violently.

* * *

><p>(No P.O.V)<p>

Victor watched, unable to do anything, as Ebony started to shake violently, and then fit. Suddenly claws, exactly like Jimmy's, came out from between her knuckles, and buried themselves in her legs. Victor lunged forward, and pulled the claws out of her legs. He watched as her wounds healed over. Whenever this happened, he was going to have to be there, to make sure she didn't stab herself again. Victor sat down on the sofa and picked Ebony up and positioned her so that she was lying across his chest. Then he grabbed hold of her wrists, and proceeded to wait.

It was near sunset when Ebony stopped shaking. Her eyes opened, and she looked up at him.

"Is the pain gone cub?"

"Yes, it is." She said, weakly.

"Alright, Lets get you something to eat, and then it's a bath and straight to bed, alright?"

She nodded. Victor stood up, keeping a hold on his cub, and carried her to the kitchen. He put her down on one of the chairs, and started getting food together for her. Victor had made sure to buy a wide variety of food, to make sure that the cub could have everything she needed in her diet, and also find something she liked. So far though, she just ate anything he put in front of her. He had no doubt that she would drink a beer if he put it in front of her with her food.

He watched her as she ate. She ate more ravenously tonight though. Victor made a note of that. He was going to need to get more food in, if her appetite spiked when she suffered growing pains. Sure enough, when she was finished, she looked nervous.

"Still hungry cub?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Alright." He turned back to the cupboards to look for something else for her. When he had a steak in his hand from the fridge, and turned back, Ebony had her stuffed cat in her hands. His brow furrowed. She didn't have that before, and he would have heard if she'd left the room.

"Ebony, where did that come from?" He motioned to the cat.

She shrugged. "I just wanted it. It came." She said.

He frowned. That wasn't a lie. Maybe she had another mutant power hat she didn't realise.

"Do you have another mutant ability, Cub?"

"If I come close to other mutants, I have their powers too. My eyes turn purple when that happens. It hurt sometimes though. Sometimes because new ones don't fit with the others, and need chance to settle, and before, cause…"

"Because what cub?"

"It just did."

Now that was a lie.

"Come on cub, you can tell me." Victor said, as he began frying the steak, just so that it was warmed through. That way, it was still raw.

"Sometimes he threw me down the stairs, to the basement if he saw my eyes change." Victor froze. They'd thrown his cub down the stairs? He barely managed to hold back a growl, as he put the piece of meat on a plate.

"That won't happen with me cub. If you have more than one power, then that's great. It's something to be grateful for, not resent. If you ever gain a new power, tell me, so we can work on helping you control it if you have trouble, alright?"

She smiled widely at him, and put the cat on the counter, to hug him, before she sat back and began tearing into the steak. As she was eating, Victor noticed a blue glow, emitting from Ebony, and a trail of blue branching from her and hitting the stuffed toy cat. The light engulfed the toy, and the cat started to change, becoming far more life like and a bit smaller.

Ebony looked up and also noticed the changes in the cat. Her eyes widened and she looked at her own glowing body. The toy cat was suddenly a real live black kitten. The blue glow faded from the both of them, and he kitten padded over, and jumped into Ebony's lap. She immediately began stroking it between the ears, and the small animal began to purr. She looked up at him in confusion.

"I think I somehow have a new power- but there are no mutants around!"

"I don't know how it happened either cub, but I think that cat likes you. Here, let me see." Victor took the kitten off her lap, and checked it over. It was a real cat alright; it was very much alive too. "Alright, Cub, do you want to keep him?"

Her eyes lit up brightly, and she nodded. "Yes please!"

"Ok." Victor handed her the kitten.

"What should I call him?"

Victor thought for a moment, but then remembered the name of a daemon. He smirked.

"How about Asmodeus?"

The cat began purring even louder.

"Asmodeus. As, for short." Ebony said, nodding.

* * *

><p>(Ebony P.O.V)<p>

Two nights later, I woke up, screaming. As jumped down the bed, startled, and dad burst into the room, wearing only sweat pants.

"What is it Cub?" He asked. He was on full alert, sniffing the room, searching it for scents that weren't meant to be there.

"It was nothing."

"It had to be something Cub, you screamed."

"It was just a bad dream."

"Alright then. Go back to sleep Cub."

"I don't think I could." I said quietly.

He sighed, and came over to the bed ad scooped me up. As jumped up onto my stomach. Dad carried me from the room and into his own. He lay me down on the bed on the side nearest the wall, and lay down beside me.

"Go to sleep cub." He said.

I nodded, and closed my eyes. But I still didn't want to sleep. So, I worked my way under dad's arm, and curled up under his arm. I felt him shift slightly, and felt his eyes on me. I didn't care. I felt safer now. Now, I could sleep. With that, I drifted off again, and the nightmares stayed away because I knew dad was there.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So, that's how Asmodeus began. Please review! Tell me what you think of this chappie. All feedback is apprieciated. **


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 6

(Ebony P.O.V)

I shifted uncomfortably as I sat in the trolley, waiting for dad to come back with the food he was picking up several feet away. Suddenly there was a woman cooing over me and making a fuss.

"Oh, such an adorable little girl! Where's your mommy at then?"

"I don't know. Don't care. Dad's here though."

The woman looked taken aback, before she began fussing again. I frowned. She was really starting to annoy me. I watched in fascination as the woman's hair suddenly became bright, flashing pink and she didn't even notice. Dad was soon back, and he was pushing the trolley away, not even saying one word to the woman.

"Good one cub. I don't know how you did it, but it was good." He laughed, when we were out of hearing distance. I grinned. "That _was_ you, wasn't it?"

I nodded. "I think so. She was annoying me."

"I guessed." He laughed, and went back to grabbing food.

* * *

><p>I was playing with As on the floor, when I heard the sound of a car.<p>

"Go to your room, cub. Don't come out until I tell you its safe."

I scampered up to my room, Asmodeus behind me. I stayed away from the window in my room, when I heard someone get out of the car. My hearing was good, so I wasn't surprised when I heard a voice speaking. "Hello Old Man." A female voice said, laughing.

"Lena. What are you doing here?" I heard dad ask.

"I can't come and visit the man who taught me everything I know?" The woman, Lena, said.

I heard dad snort. "Some warning would have been nice girl."

"I guess that means I can come in."

A few minutes later, I heard dad call up. "Come down, cub."

"What are you talking about Victor?"

I picked up Asmodeus, and carried him downstairs with me. I hid behind dad's leg, and peered around at the woman, who looked surprised. She had hair that had blonde roots, and the rest was purple, green and black. Her grey eyes were full of shock.

"Sweet Merlin." She breathed. "Victor she looks like you!"

"I know. I found her a few weeks ago. Ebony, meet Lena, I taught her before. She's a friend. Lena, this is Ebony. My cub."

Lena crouched down, smiling. "Hello Ebony. Are you going to be as difficult to handle as your old man?"

I just hid myself further behind dad's leg. Asmodeus squirmed, and I put him down, so he could roam around. I peered cautiously round dad's leg, before he picked me up. I grabbed hold of his shirt with one hand, and coat with the other as I watched Lena.

"Well, she isn't as… outgoing, as you are." Lena said.

"I'm working on that." dad said. "Remember how you were when I found you in Russia."

Lena gasped. "Someone did what they did to me, to her? She can't be older than three!"

"Four." I mumbled lightly, bringing myself closer to dad.

"Only a years difference in that." Lena said, her tone hard. "And humans call _us_ freaks. What about people who can hut children?" Her voice was rising.

"Lower your voice, Lena. Ebony's skittish."

Lena looked ashamed of herself. She sighed, and smiled at me. "I think we're going to get on just fine, Ebony."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry it's so short, but I wanted to get out an update for you. **


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 7

Ebony P.O.V

I was standing outside, just at the outline of the trees. Asmodeus was up a tree, and I was trying to coax him to come down, and go inside, I hadn't been feeling well all day and I wanted a lie down. He just mewed at me. I knew he wasn't stuck. Just being stubborn.

I suddenly felt _very_ sick, and my world span. I grabbed my head, before I passed out.

* * *

><p>No P.O.V<p>

Lena gasped when she saw Ebony collapse. "Victor!" She yelled. She ran out of the house, and headed straight for the young girl. She crouched down beside her, and rolled Ebony onto her back.

Victor ran out of the house and towards Lena and his cub. "What happened?" He asked gruffly, crouching down.

"She just collapsed." Lena said. "She's running a fever, I just checked."

Victor picked Ebony up, barely noticing Asmodeus jump down from the tree as he turned and carried his cub into the house. He took her straight to her room, where he laid her down on the bed.

"Perhaps you should call a doctor?" Lena suggested tentatively.

Victor growled. "She shouldn't need a doctor. She has a healing factor like mine!"

"Perhaps it hasn't developed fully yet. Maybe she's just fast at healing wounds. Her healing factor may not be good enough yet for illnesses." Lena offered. "All children get sick, Victor. She may need a doctor."

"I don't trust them. And she won't want it. Especially after the island."

Lena sighed. She knew that tone. He wasn't going to budge on this. But Ebony had feinted suddenly. Perhaps that was her healing factor speeding up whatever she had come down with…

A little while later, Ebony groaned and her eyes fluttered open. "Daddy?" She asked. Her voice was croaked.

"I'm here cub. How do you feel?" He asked.

"Bad." She said. "I'm really warm too."

"Alright." He said. "I'll open a window then." He said, as he stood, and went to the window to open it. Before he could reach the window though, Ebony leant over the side of the bed, and retched, bringing up her breakfast. Both Victor and Lena were beside her immediately, while avoiding the pool of sick. Victor held Ebony's hair back, and Lena turned, and ran from the room, realising that the only thing she could do was try and limit the mess, and clean up the sick already on the floor. Victor kept Ebony's hair out of the way, while he ran his other hand up and down her back.

Lena returned with two buckets and a mop. When Ebony stopped retching, Victor moved her gently, so that Lena could place one of the buckets in a clean area, and Ebony could easily reach it.

"I'll get this mess cleaned up." Lena said.

Victor nodded. Lena knew that was the closest thing she was going to get to a thank you off her mentor and one time partner, and took it happily, before she started the task of cleaning up Ebony's sick.

* * *

><p>Ebony P.O.V<p>

I felt awful. I felt like I was burning, and my stomach wouldn't stay still. Add on top of that my head still felt really light and my vision swam.

"What's wrong with me daddy?"

"I don't know, Cub. But you'll get better soon, I'm sure of it." dad told me. "Do you want some water cub?"

I just nodded. I wanted to get this taste out of my mouth. Dad stood, and left the room. Lena came and occupied the spot he'd just vacated, and began stroking my hair. I felt my eyes get heavy at the repetitive and soothing movement. Before I could drift off, dad was back with a glass of water. He handed it to Lena and helped me sit up. Lena gave me the glass and I started gulping it down.

"Slow down cub. Sip it, you'll only feel worse otherwise." Dad said.

I slowed down and started only taking sips. When I got half way through, dad took the glass from me.

"That's enough for now cub. Get some sleep. Hopefully, you'll feel better when you wake up."

I lay down and closed my eyes. For a couple of moments, I felt Lena's hand running through my hair. A few moments after she took her hand away, dad began running his hand through my hair. I yawned, and fell asleep.

A few weeks later, I was once again outside, hiding in the tall grass that was on the one side of the house. I had been out here for a while, just waiting. Earlier on, I'd seen Asmodeus pouncing on prey, and I had wanted to see if I could surprise dad. He always said that it was best to have the element of surprise. If I could do this, that would be good, right? So, here I was, hidden well in the long grass, and waiting for dad to come looking for me. I knew he'd start to wonder where I was soon, if he couldn't see me for a while, and then come looking. It was all a matter of patience.

Soon enough, I heard dad moving towards the area I was in.

"Cub?" He called. "What are you up to?"

When he was close enough, I bunched my muscles, and launched myself at him, only to sail right over him as he ducked. I landed on all fours, and skidded a little further. When I stopped, I sat up, and shook my head to clear it. I hadn't expected _that_ to happen.

"What were you trying to do cub?" dad asked, smiling down at me, amusement written all over his face.

"You said it was good to always have the element of surprise. I tried to combine that with seeing if I could pounce on you without you seeing it coming." I said. I sighed. "It didn't work though. I missed."

Dad laughed. "No you didn't. You were spot on. But I've had years of experience, and my senses are better than yours. But, if I'd been human, or a mutant without enhanced senses, you'd have had me. That was a good first try." He picked me up. "Now, if you feel up to trying to pounce, I think we can try some other training. Get your senses up to scratch."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: What do you think? Please review! Oh, and does anyone draw for DeviantART? I would really like to ask a favour for a couple of fics... Contact me by leaving a review, or PM me if you're interested. **


	8. Petition

Petition:

I, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that (I believe) violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in it's original form, this is something that I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be losing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

(Personal: I was led to believe this was a site for the fans. Meaning we can upload any kind of material, as long as it stuck to the criteria given to us before an upload. Or instead of simply getting rid of pretty much the best stories on the site, LIMIT the amount of yaoi on the site. Or at the very least have its own place in the filters…)

Forum. Fanfiction topic/111772/63683250/1/#63698621

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	9. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter 8

(Ebony P.O.V)

I laughed as I tried to evade dad's arms in the play fight. I jumped up on his back, wrapping my arms round his neck, and holding on, trying not to get pinned to the ground. I heard dad chuckle, just as he rolled over, meaning I had to either let go, or get squished. I let go, and jumped to the side, but dad's arm launched out, and caught hold of me, before pinning me to his side.

"Nice try cub." He said, grinning down at me. "I win." He let me go, and I shook my head.

"You always win." I said. The fights were only play fights, but still. He could let me win every once in a while.

"Of course I do. I'm bigger, stronger, and quicker than you. When you're older, Cub, you may be able to beat me in a fight."

"I hope I can. Just once at least."

"We'll see how it goes when you've had years of training."

"Years?" I asked, shoulder's slumping.

"Yes, cub, years. I didn't get to be as good as I was over night. I also taught myself. And then my brother."

"You have a brother?" I asked. "That means, I have an Uncle, right?"

"Yes, Cub, you have an uncle." Dad said. He stood up, and rummaged round in a draw, he pulled something out. He came back to me, and handed me a photo. It was of a group of people. One of them was dad. He pointed to a man beside him, who looked wolfish. "That's Jimmy, my younger brother."

"He looks like the guy who let me and the others out of the cages at the Island."

"That probably was Jimmy." Dad told me.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. He left."

"Why would he do that?" I asked, my eyes wide. I couldn't understand it. Dad was the only family I'd ever known. To me, leaving was not an option. Family was family. You didn't desert family. You looked out for them, and they looked out for you.

"I don't really know. He just did."

"He shouldn't have. Like you told me before, family looks out for each other." I hugged him.

* * *

><p>(No P.O.V)<p>

Victor looked down at her, and his lips turned up in a slight smile. If she kept up that belief, he'd never see his cub turn her back on him like his brother had. She was young, and young children were easily impressionable, strong beliefs from their parents usually staying with them their whole life.

"Yes, Cub, family looks out for each other. And they don't turn on each other." He knew he was being a bit hypocritical, but he needed to make sure that his daughter wouldn't turn her back on him like his brother had. He had to do it. He needed to know she was safe. Especially because Stryker knew of her.

"Do you think he'll come back?"

"I honestly don't know that either. Perhaps one day. But probably not for a while. But, if he does, I'll introduce you."

"Maybe if he knew he has a niece he'll remember how important family is." She suggested quietly, hopefully.

Victor just made a non-committal noise. Chances were, Jimmy would think Victor was a danger to Ebony and try and 'rescue' her. That would be a hell of a fight. But if it did happen, then he would come out on top. Jimmy wouldn't understand, of course, but Victor would make him understand. Ebony stayed with him. She was his cub. His daughter. He wasn't going to let someone else raise and protect her.

After a while in silence, he stood. "Alright Cub, time for lunch." He said.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the long wait. Please review!**


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